At least 15 people died in Guatemala as heavy rains battered Central America, while five more were killed in Mexico after a hurricane struck the Pacific coast, officials said Thursday.

Including deaths in nearby Nicaragua and El Salvador, the regional death toll stood at 26.

In Guatemala, state emergency coordinator David De Leon said 48,000 people had been forced from their homes by torrential rains which have drenched the nation over the past four days.

De Leon said 10 deaths were confirmed and that officials were in the process of confirming five additional fatalities. Local media said the Guatemala death toll was between 20 and 25.

Guatemalan Vice President Rafael Espada said crews were flying over affected regions to determine the extent of the damage and urged most residents to avoid unnecessary travel over the next 48 hours, with more rain expected.

The rainfall caused landslides on several major highways in the Central American country.

El Salvador recorded two deaths and Nicaragua saw at least four deaths.

In 2010, Guatemala said 274 people died from flooding and landslides amid the heaviest rainfall of the last 60 years.

In Mexico, at least five deaths which were recorded in the wake of Jova, which roared ashore as a strong category two hurricane Tuesday before weakening to a tropical storm.

An estimated 4,500 people were forced from their homes in the area including Jalisco state.

The death toll rose to five on Thursday as officials recovered the body of a man swept away by a river in Jalisco.

Earlier, authorities said a 21-year-old woman and her five-year old daughter were killed in a landslide in the small community of Melaque, and two others died in Tomatlan.

Jova lost its hurricane status Wednesday as it dumped torrential rain across much of Mexico's Pacific coast, triggering flooding and power cuts.

Jova battered Mexico just as thousands of athletes began arriving for the Pan American Games, which begin on Friday in Guadalajara, the Jalisco state capital more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the coast.

Authorities have insisted the games, one of the premier events on the global sports calendar, would not be affected.

The remnants of the hurricane were breaking up over the northwest state of Nayarit, Mexican forecasters said.